It's So Hard To Say Goodbye
by PuckleberryFinn123
Summary: She loves him. She knows it. She's always known it. So why is she with Theo then? He loves her but he tries not to show it. So he sleeps around. Nothing's ever serious and it's given him a reputation as a player.  Monchele Fic
1. A Happy Ending?

She loves him. She knows it. She's always known it. So why is she with Theo then? He loves her but he tries not to show it. So he sleeps around. Nothing's ever serious and it's given him a reputation as a player. He doesn't mind it, but he wonders if it's why she's with him. They've tried dating before but it just doesn't work, so they remain friends.

"Hey everyone, this is my boyfriend Theo," Lea smiled, introducing her new Broadway boyfriend to her friends. She sees the way Cory looks at him, but she pretends she doesn't. As they walk away, Chord turns to Cory.

"He seems nice," he states simply. Cory just rolls his eyes.

"Sure if you're into guys who look like they never shower," Cory mumbled as he walked onto set.

"Dude what's your problem with him? He's not that bad and if he managed to get someone like Lea, then he must be doing something right."

"I don't have a problem with him; I just think she could do better. She deserves better," Cory shrugged indifferently.

"Do you like her or something?" Chord asked; raising a curious eyebrow.

"What? No, of course not. Why would you ask that? I'm a stud. I don't fall in love with girls, I just sleep with them," he stated plainly, getting tired of Chord's interrogation. "Are you done with the questions now?"

"Look, the way I see it is, if you didn't have feelings for her, you wouldn't be getting jealous of her boyfriend." Cory knew he was right but he just shrugged it off like it was no big deal and walked away.

"Hey Cory, can I talk to you?" Lea knocked lightly on the door to his apartment. He debated with the idea for a few minutes before getting up to answer the door.

"Come in," he said simply, taking a step back to let her inside. She slowly walked inside, folding her hands in front of herself nervously. "So… what did you want?" He plopped down onto the couch with a sigh.

"Well as my closest friend on set, your opinion means a lot to me." Cory secretly smiled to himself, liking where this conversation was going. "And well, I wanted to get your opinion on Theo." She slowly lifted her head up to look at him. Cory was seething inside. _How could she ask him something like this? Didn't she know how he felt about her? _He was speechless; he had no idea what to say. On one hand, he knew he should tell her the truth, that he was in love with her and Theo could never give her what he could or love her like he did. But of course, his mouth and his head didn't say the same thing.

"Oh, well uh, he's cool I guess," he shrugged indifferently. "Why do you care how I feel about him?"

"Well I just… you know, wanted to make sure that things wouldn't be awkward on set whenever he comes to visit me. Plus, I just want us all to get along," she smiled hopefully over at him. _Damn, it was just so hard to say no to that girl. _

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan," he flashed her a fake smile, "you won't have to worry about me ever getting in the way of you two on set." It's not like that wasn't true. He planned to avoid them at whatever cost.

"How would you feel about us getting married?" Lea blurted out unexpectedly. Cory was shocked. His eyes widened with surprise. _Did she just say what he thinks she said?_

"Why the hell are you asking me about marriage?" He snapped at her, his gaze quickly turning into a glare.

"Well I.. I just… we've been dating for a while. It's a subject that's bound to come up. We're both ready to settle down and I just… wanted to make sure that my friends approved before I made any kind of big step like that," she said timidly, backing away as Cory stood up, pacing around the room.

"You haven't even been dating that long! How can you even think about marriage this soon?" He put his head in his hands, letting out a loud huff.

"Two years Cory, we've been dating for two years. And you know, I don't know /what/ your problem is but I just came by because I thought you out of all people would be happy for me. You're supposed to be my best friend. I guess I know I can't count on you anymore." And before Cory had the chance to reply Lea walked out, slamming the door behind her. Cory slunk back down onto the couch, sighing dramatically. There was no way he was going to let her make the mistake of marrying the wrong guy.

"I can't believe him! You would think he'd be happy for me, you know? He's supposed to be one of my best friends. If I can't even trust him to support me, how can I trust anyone else?" Lea let out an exasperated sigh, glancing over at Jon who had his hand on her back, rubbing her back soothingly.

"Maybe he's just jealous," Jon replied, wrapping his other arm around Lea's shoulder.

"Why would he be jealous?" She looked up at Jon, shaking her head in doubt.

"I-I don't know…" he knew the reason, hell /everybody/ knew the reason, but he didn't want to make Lea feel bad. "Maybe because you'd be getting married before him and you're younger than him?" Jon furrowed his eyebrows. Even /he/ knew it didn't make any sense.

"That doesn't make any sense," Lea stated.

"I know. Look Lea, you /know/ the reason he's upset. Think about it. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out." Okay, so /maybe/ she had a tiny little suspicion that he still had feelings for her, but it's not like they were serious or anything. He never loved her.

"_Come on, I'll show you where I used to go to dinner with my family," she tugged on his coat, dragging him along the New York streets. They had come to do some press just as the show started to become a success. This was his first time in New York and who better to show him than her; someone who grew up here? She had no doubt he'd fall in love with the city as she had many years before. They spent all day going to her old hangout places, visiting the house she grew up in, even stopping by to say hello to some of her family. At the end of the night after dinner, he walked her over to her hotel room, stopping by the door to smile down at her. _

"_I had a really good time today. I feel special that I'm the only one who got the private tour of Lea Michele's past," he teased, nudging her with his shoulder gently. _

"_Well now you know all of the best places to go just in case you ever come here alone." He took a step closer to her, shoving his hands into his pocket. _

"_Thank you, really. It was a lot of fun," he smiled again, resting his hand on the door; their faces mere inches apart. He had to do it. They were flirting ever since they met. He needed to know if she felt the spark he did. So he took the chance. When she didn't pull away, he knew she felt it too. Her hand worked to open up the door, their lips still attached. Once they were inside, the kiss only got more heated. Clothes went flying off as quickly as possible and soon enough they were connected in the most intimate way possible. From that point on, there was no turning back, at least for him anyway. _

"But it's not like he ever loved me or anything. We've hooked up a few times, but nothing serious ever came out of it. We knew feelings would only complicate things."

"Yeah, you might think that. But did /he/ know that?" She knew he was right. She knew there was a pretty good chance he had fallen for her. It was the whole reason they had broken up. Just as Lea was about to reply, she heard a knock on the door. She slowly got up and walked over to the door, answering it with a smile on her face.

"Theo! I thought you left for New York already." A warm smile embraced her features.

"I couldn't leave yet; not without asking you what I've been wanting to ask you." He sounded nervous.

"What is it?" Her eyes widened slightly, biting her lip with the slightest hint of what this was about. He got down on one knee, taking her hand in his.

"Lea Michele, will you marry me?"


	2. When Things Fall Apart

**A/N: sorry this chapter is so short. The next one will be longer, promise. Sorry for taking so long to get it up! School was crazy the last few weeks.**

"It's beautiful, where did he get it?" Dianna stared in awe at the ring that laid upon Lea's finger.

"He said it was his grandmother's. Isn't it gorgeous? It's been in his family for ages." Lea smiled down at the diamond ring.

"This is going to be such a beautiful wedding. You're going to be such a beautiful bride! Oh, Theo is such a lucky guy. You two are going to be so happy together." Dianna grinned, throwing her arms around her best friend in an embrace. Lea's smile quickly faded.

"I wonder how Cory's going to take it…" she bit her lip.

"You couldn't even tell me?" An angry voice appeared out of nowhere. Lea and Dianna both whipped around to find Cory standing there, glaring at them.

"Cor-Cory!" Lea got up and followed after him as he stormed away. Just as she got to his trailer, the door slammed in her face. "Cory, open the damn door right now!" She impatiently knocked on the door. "I'm not going away. I will stay out here all night until you open the door." Just a few seconds later, the door swung open, as Cory made his way back over to the couch.

"What the hell do you want?" He plopped down onto the couch, resting his arm against the back.

"I was going to tell you, I /swear/. Dianna just happened to be the first person I ran into this morning.

"Right," he rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. Lea let out an exasperated sigh.

"Look Cory, I'm not /trying/ to hurt you! I'm not marrying Theo because I have some vendetta against you. I'm doing it because it makes me happy! Do I not deserve to be happy?" She sighed, shaking her head in disbelief.

"You deserve to be happier than anyone else I know. But just how happy does he make you?" Cory got up, walking closer to Lea. "Does he give you those butterflies that girls rave about? Does he make you feel weak in the knees? Do you feel that electricity when he touches you?" Cory knew all the answers to the questions he just asked, but he wanted to hear it from her.

"I do not have to answer your questions." She shook her head, grabbing the door handle ready to leave just as Cory grabbed her wrist; spinning her around.

"You don't want to answer them because you know it's true. You're just settling for him because you think there's nothing better for you out there. You're scared you're going to end up alone." He leaned forward, letting his lips brush against hers. That's when Lea had enough. She turned toward him and before she knew it, her hand made contact with his face. She glared at him with angry eyes.

"Don't you ever do that or say those things again. You /don't/ know me. You like to think you do, but you don't! I'm happy with him, I /love/ him and I'm done trying to convince you otherwise. See, you think I'm scared of being alone, but it's you. You're the one that's scared. And you have every right to be. A manwhore like you will never find true love." She stormed out of the trailer, slamming the door behind herself. Tears actually stung Cory's eyes. He quickly sucked in a deep breath and shook his head, trying to block out what she had just said to him. He was trying to be honest with her; show her that she was making a mistake, but she knew he was right. She knew he was right, otherwise she wouldn't have reacted the way she did. But he did feel pretty bad and he hated when the girl was mad at him. She was his best friend on set; the girl he was closest to. He didn't want to lose her over his stupid uncontrollable jealousy.

_1 new text! _

Who was this? Lea flipped her phone open, looking at the message. Of course, it was from Cory.

_So hey, I uh just wanted to apologize. The things I said were stupid & it won't happen again. I need to learn how to respect your relationship. – Cory. _

She couldn't help but smile softly at the text. It took a lot for Cory to apologize; he rarely ever did it, so he must have known that he went too far.

_It's fine. Don't worry about it. I said some pretty harsh things I didn't mean either, so we're even. _

Lea knew what she had to do to make all of this go away. She needed to hook Cory up with someone. Maybe once he had a new woman in his life, he'd stop pining over Lea. And she was a pretty good matchmaker, if she did say so herself.


	3. A Recipe for Disaster

**A/N: SO sorry it's been so long since i've updated. I have definitely not forgotten about this or any of my other stories. School has been insane so please bear with me. Summer's coming soon so I should have more time to update a lot more soon. I hope the wait was worth it. Thank you all! :) **

That very next day Lea knocked on the door to her friend's house. She knew Cory would like this girl. She was totally his type. She was blonde and tall and well…blonde.

"Hi," the blonde said, enveloping Lea in a hug.

"Hi girl, you look pretty!" Lea smiled, returning the hug.

"Come in." The blonde stepped aside, letting Lea into the house.

"Nice place you've got here." She didn't want this to be awkward, but she didn't know how the blonde would take to being set up with someone she didn't really know. "So look, I need a favor from you." The blonde motioned over to the couch, where Lea took a seat. "Well I have this friend. Well I have this friend and I was wondering if you'd go out with him. He's totally cute, you'll love him!" Lea threw that in there just in case the blonde wasn't too fond of blind dates.

"I don't know Lea… a blind date?" The blonde wrinkled up her nose. "Do I have to?"

"Well no, but I promise you'll love him! Please just give it a try for me. He could really use a date to my wedding." The blonde's eyes widened; her brow crinkling in confusion.

"Your wedding?"

"Oh, I didn't tell you? Theo proposed. We're getting married in a few months," Lea grinned; showing her the ring.

"Oh my God, it's so beautiful! Congratulations!" She scooted over to hug Lea.

"Thank you," she smiled, "so what do you say? Are you in?" Lea grinned; waiting for a reply.

"I /suppose/ I could make an exception, just for you." They both exchanged a smile as Lea made her way toward the door.

"Great! Come by the set tomorrow and you can meet him," she stated simply before disappearing out the door.

The next day on set, the blonde arrived on time just like planned.

"You're here! Okay, he's in his dressing room right now getting ready for our scene, but he should be out any second now." Just as Lea had spoken, Cory walked out of his dressing room, taken aback by the two girls standing in front of him.

"Cory?" The blonde's eyes widened as she noticed the familiar face.

"Katie?" He tilted his head to the side. "What are you doing here?" He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, taking a step closer to the girls.

"You two know each other?" Lea arched an eyebrow. Clearly this is not what she expected.

"Yeah, we kinda… sorta used to date," Katie shrugged like it was no big deal. Of course it was a big deal. She wanted him to have a date to her wedding, not someone to fall in love with. Not that she should care who he fell in love with; she was getting married in a few months.

"Oh…" was Lea's less than thrilled response. "I'm sure I don't need to introduce you two then."

"Nope, definitely not; I'd uh; say we know each other pretty well." Katie let out a tiny giggle, which in turn caused Cory to smirk. It was like they were in on some inside joke that Lea wanted to know the punch line to.

"/Very/ well," was Cory's reply. He put his arms around her, pulling her into a warm embrace. Lea clicked her tongue awkwardly before pursing her lips as they pulled away.

"Yes, well isn't that sweet," Lea said sarcastically, subtly rolling her eyes, which didn't go unnoticed by Cory. He just smirked to himself.

"We have a lot of catching up to do. Just let me finish this scene and we can go grab lunch or something." Katie smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

"That sounds good. I'll see you then." They both exchanged one final smile before Katie departed leaving Lea and Cory standing there.

"What?" Cory asked as he made his way on set.

"Oh, don't give me that; you know what," she narrowed her eyes up at him. He glanced down at the tiny brunette next to him, clearly amused at how jealous she was.

"I don't see how Katie and I going to lunch is any of your business," he remarked dryly.

"Of course it's my business! You're my…." She wanted to say ex, but the truth is, they never really dated. They hooked up many times, but the second things got too serious, Lea backed out.

_The warmth of his skin was intoxicating as she laid next to him; hugging him as closely as humanly possible. His fingers danced lightly across the skin of her back as he leaned in to press a lingering kiss to her forehead. There was a silence in the room, but much needed to be said. They knew neither of them wanted to say it though_

"_What does this mean for us?" He murmured against her forehead._

"_Nothing," she replied quickly, "it's just hooking up right? No strings attached, no feelings; we don't have to worry about that stuff." She looked up at him, unable to read the expression on his face. He fake smiled down at her, nodding his head. _

_"Y-yeah, right; exactly what I was thinking." She laid her head back on his chest and he let out a quiet sigh, looking down at the girl who was supposed to mean nothing to him. But that couldn't be further from the truth. She didn't mean nothing to him; she meant everything to him and pretending she didn't killed him inside. _

"Your what Lea? I'm your what?" He arched an eyebrow, waiting for her response.

"Well you're my… my ex," she stated plainly.

"I'm not your anything, remember?" He rolled his eyes. "We never dated," he replied with a little more bitterness than was necessary.

"And whose fault is that?" She replied just as Cory started walking away. He laughed loudly, shaking his head in disbelief before turning around to face her.

"You're kidding me right? Who do you think? It certainly isn't mine!" He groaned before storming off down the hall. She knew he was right. It was her fault why they never dated. Maybe she was just mad at herself for letting him go.


	4. Kiss Me

**A/N: Hope you enjoy! It's a little longer than the other chapters and I apologize again for it taking me so long but thanks to the readers who stick by me and are excited everytime a new chapter comes out! Enjoy! :)**

Before Lea had time to stop herself, she found herself sitting in her car outside of the restaurant across from Paramount studios; the restaurant where Cory and Katie would be dining. She knew it was probably wrong to be spying on their date but there was just something that was nagging Lea. She wanted this though didn't she? She was the one who set them up. She wanted Cory to move on. Then why did she feel so awful about seeing him with another girl? Pushing all of the thoughts out of her mind, she glanced out the passenger's side window. They were sitting across from each other; a gentle laugh escaping Cory's lips. Lea cringed, scoffing to herself in disgust. She was the only one who was able to make Cory laugh like that. It made her feel special that he would only save a certain smile or a certain laugh for when he was with her. She rubbed her palm over her forehead for a moment, trying to process everything she was thinking. She loved Theo. Or at least she thought she did. Now, she wasn't so sure. She knew she had always felt something for Cory though. Something that wasn't what one would just call "friendly" but she never knew how to classify it. Looking back over at Cory and Katie, her heart dropped into her stomach. Katie was leaning across the table. Their lips were touching. It felt like a knife had just gone through her chest. Suddenly it was hard to breathe. Without thinking, she quickly started the car back up and pulled out of there as fast as she could.

Cory had to admit, he was enjoying himself. Katie was attractive. She was sweet and intelligent. He liked that in a woman. But she was missing one very important quality: She wasn't Lea. Nobody would ever be able to make him feel the way she did. They didn't have that laugh that would drive any man crazy. They didn't have those legs that seemed to go on for miles on end. They didn't have that smile that could light up an entire room. And they didn't have her heart. Lea had the biggest heart out of anyone Cory had ever met and that only made him love her even more. Interrupted from his previous thoughts, he smiled over at Katie, who was rambling on about something. Before he knew it, she had leaned in and her lips were pressed to his. Immediately, Cory gently pushed her back, wiping off his mouth.

"Katie, look. I think you're great and all but I'm just not interested." He tried to let her down as easily as possible.

"Not interested?" She arched an eyebrow. "You sure seemed interested an hour ago."

"You're right and I was I just… don't think it's going to work out." Katie grabbed her purse and left without another word. Once she was gone, Cory pressed his palm to his forehead, squeezing his eyes shut. That damn Lea. Even when she wasn't there she still found a way to ruin his relationships. Why did he have to love her so much? Sighing, he stood up and made his way back to the set.

"Hey Di, have you seen Lea?" Cory approached Dianna on set later that afternoon. Dianna shook her head. "Sorry Cor, but I think she went home early today. Something about wanting to be alone." Dianna shrugged before walking away. Cory knew something must have been bugging her if she wanted to be alone. Lea never wanted to be alone. She liked to be the center of attention. As fast as he could, Cory made his way over to Lea's place. He wanted to be the one to comfort her. Knowing that she wouldn't answer the door if she knew it was him, he decided to use the spare key underneath the door mat and let himself in.

"Hey Lea, I think we need to…" Cory made an abrupt stop at the sight he saw before him. His eyes widened as he saw Lea shove Theo back and quickly pull her shirt on.

"Cory…" Lea started before he shook his head, slowly backing out of the room.

"No, it's okay. I should've knocked or something," he replied simply.

"Yeah you should've," Theo snapped. Lea turned to face him, glaring over at him.

"I'll be out of your way." Cory left without another word.

"Wait!" Lea called after him but it was too late. He was long gone. "I am so embarrassed." She sighed, burying her face into her hands.

"There's no reason to be. He shouldn't have just barged in here like that. Pretty sure he knows how to knock," Theo grumbled before taking a seat next to Lea on the couch.

"Theo! Knock it off. It's not like he did it on purpose. It was an accident and I owe him an apology." She got up and quickly changed into her clothes. Theo sighed and pulled her back onto the couch.

"You sure you don't want to stay here with me…" he murmured, pressing kisses along her neck and shoulder. She shoved him away, shaking her head in disbelief. She couldn't believe he was acting like this. He was acting like a child and right now Cory needed her more than Theo did.

"No, I'm not staying here. I'm going to apologize to Cory. Either way, I want you out of here by the time I get back," she let out a quiet huff of anger before slamming the door shut on the way out, causing a frustrated Theo to kick over the table once she left.

Taking a deep breath, Lea knocked on Cory's door.

"Cory, it's me. I'm /really/ sorry you had to see… what you had to see at my place. That never should have even happened. I… I know you're probably really pissed or hurt or angry and you have every right to be, but please. Can we just at least talk about this?" Lea waited for a few more minutes but she still received no answer. Just as she started walking away, Cory opened the door. She quickly turned around, noticing his eyes all puffy and red; his cheeks stained with tears. "I'm /so/ sorry." She replied, instantly wrapping her arms around his waist in a tight hug. It's not like it wasn't true. She was sorry. Seeing him like this (and knowing it was because of her) absolutely killed her inside. She just wanted to hold him and never let go. Cory was the kindest, most genuine person she knew. He kind of reminded her of a puppy. He was always smiling and happy. She'd never seen him this way before and she hoped she'd never have to see him like this again. When she slowly felt him wrap his arms back around her, she knew they were good. She glanced up at him, a small smile gracing her lips.

"What can I do to make it up to you?" She asked; her eyes pleading for forgiveness.

"Kiss me." The command came out of his mouth before he had time to think. She was taken aback. She couldn't cheat on Theo. She wasn't like that, even if they did just get into a fight.

"Cory, you know that I can't do that…" she mumbled quietly, avoiding his gaze.

"Why not because of that ass you call a boyfriend!" he spat out at her angrily. Lea squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. She was conflicted. It's not that she cared if Theo broke up with her or not, but she was not a cheater. On the other hand, she didn't want to hurt Cory again. And she /really/ did want to kiss him. She forgot what it felt like. Without thinking, she reached up on her tip toes and gripped onto the back of Cory's neck. She pulled him down so that his lips were meeting hers in a tender, yet affectionate kiss. He moved his hands to rest on her hips as he deepened the kiss instantly. In that moment, Lea forgot all about Theo. This kiss was way more intense than anything she had ever felt with anyone else. As hard as she tried, she couldn't stop herself. Cory started making his way into his apartment. Lea jumped up into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist to keep herself up. They made their way over to Cory's bedroom and he laid her down gently on the bed; his hands working to remove her shirt. Once he tossed it aside, he went to work on peppering her neck with kisses. Words couldn't describe how good that felt. Lea instantly let out a quiet moan, letting her head fall back against the pillows. That's when it hit her. She shouldn't be doing this. No matter how good it felt. She grabbed his shoulders and gently pushed Cory back.

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong? Did I not do something right?" Cory looked down at her; concern in his eyes.

"No, no. You did everything perfectly and that's the problem." Cory furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"This is because of Theo isn't it?" Cory asked knowingly. Lea didn't reply but instead tossed her shirt on and fixed herself up.

"This was a mistake. I just came here to apologize. This wasn't supposed to happen." She shook her head; angry with herself. How could she let things get this far?

"How could it be a mistake if it felt so right?" Cory shrugged, inching closer to Lea.

"You know I'm not the type of person to cheat Cory! How could…" Lea trailed off and grabbed her stuff before making her way out of the apartment. Cory just walked back into his room and slammed the door behind him out of frustration. How could she play with his feelings like that? She knew how strong his feelings were for her and she walked all over that. As Lea made her way home, the only thing that crossed her mind was Cory. She felt so awful for just leaving him like that and she was disappointed in herself that she let things go as far as they did. But she couldn't help it. Being with Cory felt amazing. It just felt right. Lea froze when she opened the door to her apartment. It was completely trashed. Papers were strewn all over the floor, and her furniture was out of place and pretty much destroyed. Lea wasn't sure what to think but all she knew was that she was afraid. Without even thinking about it, Lea pulled out her phone and texted Cory.

_I know what I did to you was wrong and I'm so sorry for walking out, but I just got back to my apartment and the place is trashed. I have no idea what is going on but all I know is that I'm really scared and I could really use a friend right now. Would you please come over to keep me company? _

As soon as Cory got the text, he rushed over to Lea's house. It didn't matter what she did to him (it never did) whenever she was upset, he wanted to be the one to comfort her; always. As soon as he let himself into her apartment her arms were wrapped around him in a tight embrace.

"Are you okay?" He glanced down at her, rubbing her lower back soothingly. "Nobody's here right? You're not hurt or anything are you?" Lea just let out a quiet laugh of relief, tilting her head back to look up at him.

"I'm fine. It just… freaked me out a little bit, but you always know just how to make me feel better." She laid her head against his chest, smiling to herself.

"Well I'm glad you're okay," he mumbled quietly. "Should I go now?" Lea quickly shook her head and looked up at him once more.

"Cory?" She started.

"Yeah," he replied, tilting his head down to look at her.

"Kiss me," she repeated his command from earlier. That was all the permission he needed. He didn't ask questions and he certainly didn't care about Theo. All he knew was that Lea wanted to kiss him and he sure as hell wanted to kiss her. He knew she'd never be able to deny her feelings for him again after that moment.


	5. Breakups and Makeups

**A/N: Sorry the chapters are coming so slow. I promise I'm working on them as fast as possible. Enjoy the new chapter! Read and Review please :) **

Lea must have been tired because she didn't remember anything from the past two hours. All she knew was that she was now lying in Cory's arms; happily. She knew this was right for her. She had finally made a decision. She wanted to be with Cory. She needed to be with Cory. She felt bad that she had to break up with Theo; he was her security blanket for two years, but she couldn't lead him on anymore. She couldn't sacrifice her happiness just to be with someone she wasn't even in love with. Smiling as she looked up at him, she touched Cory's cheek affectionately.

"I love you," she whispered out quietly before leaning in to press her lips against his. Cory awoke instantly at the contact, his lips growing into a smile as he tenderly returned the kiss. "You're up," she smiled.

"Kind of hard not to be when you have a pretty girl giving you some lip action," he smirked, earning an elbow from Lea to his side. Lea bit her lip as she stared into his eyes. It never ceased to amaze her how much she loved this man. She didn't even think it was possible to love someone as much as she loved Cory. And she knew he loved her too; probably just as much as she loved him and way more than Theo ever could. At the sound of a beep, Lea sat up on the bed and pulled out her phone. A text; from Theo, of course. He picked the worst possible moment to apologize.

"Who is that?" Cory leaned over Lea's shoulder to sneak a glance at the phone, but she pulled it away quickly before he had a chance to look at it.

"Oh, just Theo; he wants to meet in person to apologize to me."

"Apologize for what?"

"For trashing my apartment. Turns out it was him." Cory's eyes widened and he shook his head in disbelief.

"Unbelievable. Why would he even do that? He's such an ass." Lea couldn't help but smile to herself. Cory's jealousy was adorable.

"We got into a fight before I came over to apologize to you."

"Oh," was Cory's less than thrilled response.

"But I'm going to break up with him when I see him," Lea blurted out unexpectedly. As she looked over at Cory, she noticed a huge smile on his face.

"Y-you are? Why?" He pushed himself up next to her.

"Things just haven't been the same between us lately. I can't go through with this marriage if he's going to act like this every time we get into a fight." Lea got off the bed and fixed herself up. "I'm going to go talk to him now. You can stay here if you'd like. I'll see you later though?" She leaned forward on the bed to kiss Cory's cheek before disappearing out the door.

Sucking in a deep breath; Lea knocked on Theo's door. She was nervous. This wasn't just some meaningless breakup. This was breaking up an engagement. Her mother was going to be so disappointed. Her mother adored Theo and she was so excited when she found out that they would be getting married in just a few months. Lea wouldn't only be hurting Theo, but she'd be hurting her family. She wasn't sure if one boy was worth all of that trouble. What if her and Cory broke up? Not only would it make things super awkward on set (and she may end up losing his friendship too) but she could have thrown her one real shot at marriage away. She'd wanted to get married ever since she was a little girl. As lame as it sounded, she would plan her wedding detail by detail. She even used to act out the weddings with her Barbie and Ken dolls. It was just a dream of hers. She couldn't imagine not ever getting married.

"Lea," Theo called, shaking her out of her daze "I've called your name like five times. Is everything okay?" He arched an eyebrow, stepping aside to let her enter the room.

"Actually, no it's not. Theo, look we need-"she started before he cut her off.

"It's so good to see you," he smiled, walking over to her; wrapping one arm around her waist.

"Theo," she sighed "we really need to talk." He nodded his head slowly, looking down at her with sad eyes.

"I know I screwed up okay? I'm so freaking sorry, it's just, you don't know what it's like to have to read about your girlfriend and some other guy every single day. All I ever hear about is how fans want you two together and they have couple names for you and they all believe you two are soul mates or something. I have to hear about how perfect you two are together or see pictures where it looks like you two are flirting and it just drives me crazy. Then he just barges in when we're having a private moment; something we don't get very often and you just go running off to him and defending him. How do you think that makes me feel? Doesn't feel so great knowing your girlfriend wants to be with some other guy. Why do you think I proposed? Yes, it was because I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but I'm not about to lose you to some awkward Canadian guy. I can't lose you Lea. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me." Lea glanced up into Theo's eyes and they were practically pleading; begging even, for her not to leave him. How could she deny him what he truly wanted? It's not like she didn't love him. And it was obvious he loved her. How could she just break his heart like that? She couldn't just tell him that she was leaving him for the one person that made him feel insecure about their relationship. Lea sighed and inhaled a deep breath; a stream of tears falling down her face without even realizing it. Theo quickly wiped them away with his thumb before pressing kisses to her cheek. "Please Lea? I wouldn't know what to do without you." Lea chewed on her lower lip harshly. Why did they both have to be such nice guys? This decision would be a whole hell of a lot easier if one of them was an asshole.

"Hey," Cory grinned as Lea walked into her apartment later on that evening.

"Hi," she replied somberly, bypassing Cory and walking straight into the kitchen. Cory knew something was up. She was upset about something, but he wasn't quite sure what it was. Maybe Theo didn't take the breakup so well. He walked over to Lea, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, pressing sweet kisses to her bare shoulder.

"Cory, we need to talk." He dreaded those words. Nothing good ever came out of it when a girl said "we need to talk."

"Sure, what's up?" he looked down at her, hopping up onto the counter.

"So I went to talk to Theo today," she started out.

"How did he take the breakup? I'm guessing it didn't go so well."

"It didn't go as planned. We're not breaking up." Cory's brows furrowed in confusion as he looked over at her.

"What do you mean you're not breaking up? You sure seemed to know what you wanted when you left this morning. What the hell changed?" He got down from the counter, pacing back and forth around the kitchen.

"I couldn't do it Cory. He was begging me not to leave him. I love him. We're getting married soon. I can't just give all of that up." Cory laughed bitterly, shaking his head in disbelief.

"And what about me huh; what about my feelings? I guess you care about his feelings but not mine. Its okay to hurt me but it's not okay to hurt him. You're such a joke Lea." She narrowed her eyes at him in anger, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You don't understand Cory. Maybe if you were capable of keeping a girlfriend, you would." Lea knew she had gone too far, but at this point she didn't care. The more she pushed him away, the better. He might be able to get over her if she was a bitch to him and that's what she needed. As much as it hurt her, she needed him to move on. She was marrying Theo and it was better for both of them this way. She got out before their feelings for each other got any stronger. Sure he would be angry with her for a little while. But he'd get over it eventually. Not like if they broke up and things ended badly. Lea never felt comfortable being friends with an ex and she knew that once Glee was over her and Cory would never be able to stand a chance. They were both two completely different people. She was barely able to make a long distance relationship with Theo work. She would never be able to make it work with Cory; especially if he went back to Canada. So technically she was doing them both a favor. He would see that eventually.

"So I get lied to, dumped and get told I'm incapable of love all in one day. Today must be my lucky day." Cory replied sarcastically before grabbing his coat off the arm of the couch and making his way out the door without another word.

"Cory, wait! Damn it." Lea sighed, following after him. "Stop, look I'm doing you a favor." She stepped in front of him, blocking him from entering the elevator. "This is best for the both of us. We got out before either of us fell too hard." She shrugged casually. Cory gently pushed her out of the way, getting onto the elevator.

"I freaking loved you Lea. I love you more than anyone could love another human being. I don't understand how much deeper it can get than that," he remarked just before the elevator doors closed. She pounded on them in frustration; tears pouring down her cheeks before she could stop them. She sadly made her way back into her apartment, closing the door behind her and slumping onto the couch. When did things become so screwed up? One second she was so sure about what she wanted and the next she was as confused as Brittany. She knew if Cory would have just listened to what she had to say he would have understood. If he would have seen Theo's face, he'd know the reason why she couldn't break up with him. It wasn't because she loved one more than the other (though if she thought about it, as screwed up as it sounded, Cory won that battle). She always prided herself on being a perfectionist. Everything had to be planned down to the tiniest detail. Falling in love with Cory was by far the most spontaneous thing she's ever done. With Theo, things were structured. And a structured life was what Lea needed. Why fix that if it isn't broken?

If there was one thing Lea was good at, it was relationships. She was a good girlfriend if she did say so herself and when she loved someone she did everything she could to shower her boyfriend with love. But most importantly, she had never cheated. Ever. She was pretty proud of herself. She had to kiss attractive guys as a job and not once did she ever feel the need to cheat on Theo. Maybe that's why Cory scared her so much. He was the only guy who ever tempted her. Hell, he was the only guy who actually got her to cheat on her boyfriend when he wasn't even trying. She was head over heels in love with him and that feeling while exciting, made her want to run. It scared her more than she would ever admit.


	6. A Quick Update  Author's Note

Author's Note:  
Hey guys! I'm so sorry that I haven't been updating this as quickly as I should have. But these past few weeks of summer have been completely crazy and I just haven't had time to update the next chapter. I've finally been working on it though and I think it's coming along well. I'm hoping to get it up in the next few days so please bear with me! I think you guys will really like the next chapter. Thanks for all the support on my stories. You guys are the best! Your reviews seriously make my day and make me want to keep writing.

xoxo


	7. True Friends

**A/N: It's up now! Sorry for such a long wait. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I know it's short (as the others have been) but I just can't bring myself to write super long chapters just for the sake of making them longer. So here you go. I hope you like it. Read and review and let me know how you like it. :) **

It had been a few days since Lea and Cory had fought at her apartment. They hadn't spoken since. Lea tried texting him multiple times but she never received any back. She even left numerous voice messages on his phone, but she still got no reply. They would be starting work again in a few days and if things were awkward, Ryan would not be pleased. She decided the best thing was to give him some space. Whenever Cory and her got into a fight, a little space and time was all they needed. They could never stay away from each other for too long. It was only a matter of time before Cory would show up at her door and apologize and things would be back to normal; just like that time they had a fight on last year's tour. At the time, Cory and Dianna were secretly seeing each other. And it made Lea's blood boil. Even though she was dating Theo and he was dating Dianna and neither her nor Cory had admitted their feelings for each other yet, there was still something there. And they both knew it.

"_Hey, some of us are going out to dinner and we were wondering if you wanted to come with us." Cory peered his head through the crack in Lea's hotel room door. _

"_No," she replied simply, turning her back toward the door. Cory knew he had done something wrong. She was being way too cold toward him. _

"_Okay, what did I do?" He slowly stepped into the room, closing the door behind himself. _

"_Nothing; nothing at all. Shouldn't you be busy sucking face with Dianna?" She rolled her eyes and pulled the covers further up over herself. Cory sighed and ran his hands through his hair. _

"_Lea, what do you want from me? You're with Theo. I'm with Dianna. There is nothing between us. So we've hooked up once or twice? It's not like we have feelings for each other. I don't get why you're getting all pissy that I have a girlfriend." He paced the room back and forth before sitting down on the edge of the bed next to her. Lea ignored him and simply closed her eyes. Cory hesitantly rested a hand on her hip, rolling her over to face him. "Lea…" he pleaded. Lea removed his hand from her body and turned back around; her back facing him once again. Cory shook his head in disbelief and got up, pursing his lips in anger. "Fine, you know what? I'm done here. You're so freaking frustrating Lea," he huffed before walking out of the room, slamming the door behind him. _

As soon as dinner was over Cory came over and they apologized. It was like nothing even happened. That was one of the biggest fights they had ever had, so she knew this was only a small bump in the road.

"Good morning!" Lea greeted everyone cheerily as she walked into work that next morning. She looked around the whole studio but Cory was nowhere to be found. He was probably late, as usual. Just as Lea was about to film her first scene, Cory finally managed to show up.

"There you are!" She grinned, skipping over to him. "I've been looking for you everywhere." Cory glared at her secretly, which didn't go unnoticed by her. Her smile quickly faded into a frown. "What's with the evil stare?" she questioned as she looked up at him.

"You're seriously asking that?" His eyebrow arched in confusion; a bitter laugh escaping his lips "You're kidding right?" Inside, Lea knew what this was about. He was still mad at her for choosing Theo over him. But he couldn't stay mad forever. This was the longest they went without talking.

"So what are you going to do? Stop talking to me? We work together. That's not good for our professional relationship!" Lea snapped.

"You didn't seem to care about our professional or personal relationship when you did what you did the other day huh?" Cory shook his head in disbelief and walked away. Lea let out an exasperated sigh and stormed off to her dressing room. Once there, she buried her face in the pillows on the couch.

"Lea, you okay?" Darren poked his head through the door before stepping into the room fully. She looked up from the pillow.

"Do I look okay?" She let out yet another sigh and pushed herself up on the couch so that she was sitting. Darren sat down next to her.

"No that's why I was asking. Wanna talk about what happened?" He rested a hand on her back, rubbing it in comforting motions.

"Cory and I are fighting." She replied simply.

"About what?" He tilted his head to the side, listening to what she had to say next.

"Let's just say I did something stupid. So stupid that this is the longest he's gone without talking to me." She groaned as she lay down on the couch, resting her head on Darren's lap. Darren stroked her hair comfortingly.

"Would you mind telling me what you did that was so stupid?" He questioned carefully, looking down at the brunette in his lap.

"It's… complicated," she started with another sigh "It's hard to explain but let's just say I chose someone else over him. And he has every right to be pissed at me. I feel so horrible about what I did. I just wish there was an easy way to go about the situation so that nobody would get hurt. But I ended up hurting Cory and now I might have ruined our friendship for good," she rambled on without a pause. Darren pursed his lips in consideration before speaking once again.

"I can see why he'd be upset." Darren looked down at Lea who smiled sadly up at him. "But, I can also see where you're coming from. If Cory's a true friend, and I'm pretty sure he is, he'll come around. Don't worry about it. I can't imagine Cory separating himself from you for much longer." Darren dipped his head down to press a comforting kiss to Lea's forehead before sliding her off of his lap and standing up. "I've gotta be on set in a few, so I'll see you later?" Lea nodded and Darren walked out of the room. Figuring she had some time to kill, Lea pulled her laptop open and searched the web. After tweeting about an upcoming scene she had to shoot, she noticed that a certain video link appeared in her mentions quite a few times. Thinking it was a fan video; she clicked on the link and watched the video. It certainly wasn't a fan video. It was more like a hate video. The whole 10 minutes of the video talked about how much of a hypocrite Lea was for being a vegan and wearing leather. It also talked about how they thought she was such a diva. The video pretty much chewed her out. She wasn't sure why she did it, but she decided to scroll down and read the comments people made on the video. She was surprised to see how many people agreed with the girl in the video. One comment said:

_I've never thought about that before but you're so right! She's such a big hypocrite. _

Another wrote:

_I hate Lea Michele. She's such a fake b*tch. I don't know how anyone could like her. I'd be ashamed to call myself a fan. _Lea quickly closed the laptop screen, tears stinging her eyes. How could people be so cruel when they didn't even know her; the real her? She couldn't go to set like this. She was a wreck. Not only did she miss Cory, but people thought she was a hypocrite and hated her. It was the frosting on top of a crappy cake.

"Where's Lea? We need to get this scene done in the next five minutes or we'll be behind schedule. We've got a lot of ground to cover today," Ryan asked the cast.

"Last time I saw her she was in her dressing room. She was pretty upset too," Darren shrugged and walked back over to where he was standing next to Amber and Chris.

"Cory can you go check on her and see what's taking her so long?"

"I don't know if that's a good idea. Can't you have Dianna or Darren or someone else go get her?" Cory rolled his eyes subtly.

"I wasn't asking. It was an order," Ryan remarked snarkily and glared up at Cory before marching off to the opposite side of the set. Cory let out a sigh and made his way over to Lea's dressing room. Knocking once on the door, he stepped inside her room carefully.

"Lea, Ryan wants you on set, now. He's pretty pissed. I suggest you get your butt out there in the next few seconds." She didn't respond so Cory took a few steps closer. Looking down at her, he noticed that she was crying. Her eyes were puffy and red and she was sniffling pretty loudly. "What's wrong?" He asked, instantly forgetting that he was supposed to be mad at her. Instead of answering, Lea pointed to the computer. Cory understood what she meant and walked over to the couch, pulling up the laptop screen. Cory was disgusted. How could anyone say these things about Lea; his Lea. Okay, maybe she wasn't /his/ Lea, but she was his friend and he would never let anyone get away with saying such nasty things about her. "You're upset about this Lea?" He shook his head and nudged her legs gently, signaling her to sit up so he could sit down. "These jerks don't know the first thing about you and you're actually /letting/ their opinion matter to you? That's so silly and you know it." Lea looked over at Cory and wiped her eyes.

"I can't help it Cor, the things they were saying were just so harsh. How could people be that mean?" Cory wrapped an arm around Lea's shoulders and pulled her closer to him.

"Because they're insecure. You're beautiful, talented, and kind. You're everything they're not and they can't stand you for it." Lea's frown quickly turned into a smile as she looked up at Cory.

"You really think so?" Cory nodded his head confidently.

"I know so." Cory reached down and grabbed the laptop, typing in a comment.

"What are you doing?" Lea asked, her eyebrows furrowing in clear confusion.

"You'll see," he smirked, hitting send. Lea pulled the laptop away from him and looked at what he typed.

_Jealous? Yeah, I would be too. I can only wish I was as kind hearted as Lea. So what if she wears leather? She never claimed to be perfect. She's only human. But she cares about those animals and no one can deny that. And she's the furthest thing from a fake bitch. Lea Michele is the real deal. I'm sorry you feel like you have to put down her many amazing qualities to make you feel better about your less than redeeming ones. _

Lea's face lit up like a light bulb. Cory had said such sweet things about her. He was being so kind to her after she was so horrible to him. He was even more amazing than she had realized. She believed Cory came as close to perfect as one person could get.

"Thank you," she mouthed to him and he just nodded his head. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into her tiny arms. "Does this mean you're not mad at me anymore?" She pulled back slowly to look up at him nervously.

"We're cool," he nodded and flashed her a small smile. Cory stood up; holding his hand out for Lea. She happily took it and they made their way back to set. She was glad they were friends again. She never would have been able to get through her insignificant meltdown if it wasn't for his support. He was always there for her and she only hoped one day she'd be able to repay him; somehow, someway.


	8. Pushin' Me Away

**A/N: So so sorry for the long wait between chapters. Summer was pretty busy for me but now that I've graduated high school and am not attending college right away I have some time to just write and do whatever. So here's the next chapter. Slightly longer than most of the others. I already have a plan for what I want the next chapter to be like so hopefully it doesn't take me as long as it took to get this one up. Hope you enjoy! Read and review as always. Your comments and feedback make my day. **

So Lea and Cory quickly went back to their regular routine. They hung out on set all the time and whenever they weren't working, they were texting or talking on the phone or over at each other's houses. They didn't dare bring up their love lives to each other. They both knew it was better not to know what was going on in that aspect of each other's lives.

"So which movie are we watching tonight?" Lea asked as she curled up onto the couch next to Cory; a bowl of popcorn in her hands.

"Rent? I saw that you had it and it looked like something you'd be interested in watching. Is that okay?" He looked over at Lea, who had a bright smile on her face.

"Of course that's okay! It's one of my favorite movies." Cory pressed play on the remote as Lea settled into the seat next to him, her head on his shoulder and his arm around her; a position they had gotten comfortable with again over the past few days.

"Popcorn?" Lea held out a piece of popcorn to Cory and fed it to him.

"Isn't this the song you and Amber sung on the Comeback episode?" Lea's smile only widened. She couldn't believe he remembered that.

"Yeah, actually it is. I love this song. I think it's my favorite from the movie." She wasn't sure why she did it, but Lea stood up and began acting out that part in the movie. She spun and danced around the room, belting out the lyrics to "Take Me or Leave Me. It was the most adorable thing Cory had ever seen. He loved how comfortable she felt around him. It only made him wonder if she did this kind of stuff in front of Theo. _Theo. _He really hated that in less than a few weeks, Theo would be the one to hold Lea every night when they went to bed. He hated that Theo got to make love to Lea whenever he wanted. He hated that he could kiss her and wrap his arms around her whenever he pleased. Most of all, he hated that Theo got to love Lea. And he hated that she loved him back.

"I can't believe I just did that," Lea laughed softly and put her face in her hands sheepishly as she sat back down next to Cory. He chuckled softly and pulled her into his arms, squeezing her against his side gently.

"Oh, come on. I thought it was cute," He smiled to himself as he looked down at her.

"You think?" She bit her lower lip and removed her hands from her face, glancing up at him. He nodded his head once and tucked a strand of stray hair behind Lea's ear.

"Yeah, I do," he said in a soft tone, looking into her eyes. They both stayed like that for a moment or two until they heard the front door being pushed open. Lea's eyes widened in horror as the door opened up wider and gripped onto Cory's bicep tightly. For all she knew it could be a crazy stalker fan or a burglar trying to break into her home. Once the door was opened up all the way though, she quickly realized it was neither of those options.

"What the hell? You scared me!" Theo entered through the door; a suitcase in his hands. His eyebrow arched at the sight before him.

"What's this?" He asked, referring to the way Lea was grabbing onto Cory. Lea quickly removed her hands from around Cory and stood up from the couch, walking over to Theo.

"It's nothing. It's just two friends hanging out and having a movie night. Why didn't you just knock?" Theo let a laugh escape his lips. Lea noticed the sarcastic tone of his laugh.

"Why didn't Cory knock that time when he walked in on us?" Lea rolled her eyes subtly; making sure that Theo didn't notice. She knew he would bring that up sooner or later.

"The key was for emergencies only Theo; not for you to just barge in whenever you please and scare the hell out of me!" She crossed her arms over her chest just as Theo wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her closer to him.

"I'm sorry baby; I just wanted to surprise you. I took a few weeks off of work so we could spend time together and plan the final details of the wedding. I thought you'd be happy to see me." Theo's lips curled up into a small pout. Lea felt bad. On one hand, she was happy to see him. It was nice that he took time off for her. But on the other hand, she could only imagine how Cory was feeling right now. He was probably pissed beyond belief. And she was right. Cory sat there, clenching his jaw and fought hard not to go off on Theo. Instead, he stood up and quickly headed for the exit.

"I'll see you at work tomorrow Lea," Cory said before walking out the door. Lea didn't even have time to respond.

"Ah alone at last," Theo's features turned into a smile as he dipped his head down to capture Lea's lips in a tender kiss. Once they pulled back from the kiss, Theo cleared his throat before speaking. "What was he doing here?" He asked, moving around the room to set his bag down on the couch.

"I told you we were watching a movie. I was bored and he was willing to come over to keep me company. That was it." She shrugged; making it seem like it was no big deal.

"Of course he was. He's in love with you Lea. Can't you see that? The poor guy's obsessed with you and it kills him knowing that he can't have what's mine." Theo plopped down onto the couch nonchalantly.

"He can't have what's yours? What do you think I am; a piece of property? I'm not your property Theo and I'd appreciate it if you didn't treat me like it!" She huffed, her hands on her hips and her face beat red from anger.

"Whoa, Lea that's not what I meant. I'm sorry if you took it that way. I just meant, he wants you," Theo sighed and stood up, walking over to Lea once more. "And he hates that he can't have you because you're going to be my wife in less than two weeks." Another smile formed on his face as he bent down to kiss Lea once more. This time, she pulled away before he got the chance. "Something wrong?" his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"No, I'm just tired." Lea faked a yawn. "I think I'm just gonna go to bed and get some rest. I'll see you in the morning." She reached up on her tip toes and planted a kiss to his cheek before walking into her bedroom. Closing the door behind her, Lea leaned up against it and let out a soft sigh. Why did things have to be so confusing? In two weeks she would be Lea Stockman. She'd be married. She wasn't sure how she felt about that anymore. A wedding is the most special day in a woman's life, but if you're not doing it for the right reasons and with the right person, it's only going to end up in divorce. She wasn't so sure she wanted to be tied down to one man for the rest of her life; or at least the man she was planning to marry anyway. Suddenly, the idea of a wedding made Lea sick to her stomach. With another sigh, Lea ran her fingers through her hair and climbed into bed; hoping she'd have a clearer head in the morning.

"So what do you think about this cake?" Theo held up a fork to Lea's mouth and she tasted the cake off of it, wrinkling up her nose in disgust.

"I'm not a big fan," she shook her head and flipped through a bridal magazine as she sat on Theo's lap the next afternoon on the set of Glee.

"Have you gotten the dress yet?" Theo took a break from cake tasting to wrap his arms around Lea's waist.

"Um, no I should be doing that in the next couple of days." Lea looked down at Theo; who clearly looked confused.

"Why haven't you gotten the dress yet? We're getting married in two weeks. Everything's supposed to be pretty much put together." Lea sighed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Don't use that tone with me Theo. I don't appreciate it. I've been busy okay? I haven't really had time to plan a wedding what with 16 hour days on set; 5 days a week. And when I'm not on set or in the studio or in rehearsal, I'm spending as much time as possible…" Lea didn't finish her sentence before Theo jumped in and interrupted her.

"With Cory," he mumbled underneath his breath; earning him a glare from Lea.

"No, actually I was going to say visiting my family since I rarely have time to do that anymore. That's it. I can't do this. You just assume things and I'm sick of it." Lea was about to get off of Theo's lap, but he held her down.

"No, babe I'm sorry. It's just… he pisses me off. You don't know what it's like to have people tell you about how perfect your girlfriend is with someone else. And I know I've said that before but I see the way you look at each other. Do you think I'm stupid? I notice things." Lea shook her head in disbelief.

"Nothing's happened though Theo! I haven't cheated on you, Cory's been respectful of our relationship and I don't love him." Lea basically had to choke those last words out. Because that couldn't have been further from the truth. Just as Lea finished her sentence, none other than Cory happened to be walking by. He stood a good distance away; though he could still hear their conversation, glancing over at Lea and Theo in disgust. Once he heard what Lea said, he had to admit it broke his heart. He knew the first part of her sentence wasn't true because they both had definitely gone far past the boundaries of friendship, but that last part? It tore his heart apart. Even if she didn't mean it, just hearing her say it was enough. From this day forward, he made a promise to himself to just stay friends with Lea. Even if it killed him, he was going to make sure they never went past those boundaries again and he was going to actually try and move on. She deserved happiness and if Theo was what made her happy; much to his dismay, then he wasn't going to come between that ever again. She was getting married in two weeks. There wasn't much he could do about it. Lea would probably hate him forever if he tried to ruin the wedding, so he was going to be the best friend he could possibly be.

Just as soon as Theo happened to catch Cory's eye, he gripped onto the back of Lea's head and pressed their lips together in a long kiss. Lea pushed against Theo's chest and finally managed to break away from the kiss.

"What the hell are you doing? This is my workplace! That's inappropriate." Lea wiped her lips and stood up from Theo's lap, immediately walking away from him. Theo followed after her but she managed to make it into her dressing room just in time to slam the door behind her.

"Come on babe, I'm sorry. I just wanted to kiss my soon to be wife. I didn't realize there was anything wrong with that." He knocked on the door repeatedly.

"Go away Theo. I don't want to deal with this right now. I have to film in a few minutes anyway so I'll just see you later."

"I'm not leaving," he sighed and continued pounding on the door.

"Theo I'm asking you to leave. If you really loved me, you'd respect my wishes and leave." Lea heard one final pound on the door; one that seemed to stem from frustration and made her jump, before she heard footsteps walking away. She let out a sigh of relief and plopped down onto the couch; rubbing her hands over her face. Why did things have to be so difficult? The Theo she was about to marry was not the Theo she knew and used to love. It only made her want to call off the wedding more and pushed her into Cory's arms. Didn't Theo see that he was driving her away? Lea's thought process was interrupted when she heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" She asked, standing up from her spot on the couch.

"It's me." Lea knew that familiar voice all too well and walked over to the door to open it. She was glad to see Cory. Without warning, she stood on her tip toes and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. Pleasantly surprising to Cory, he wound his arms back around her waist and stepped into the room, kicking the door closed. "What was that for?" He smiled to himself as he slowly and unwillingly pulled back from the hug.

"For being your amazing self. I'm just really lucky I have such a good friend like you." Lea smiled over at him before taking a seat. "So what can I help you with?" Lea patted the spot next to her and Cory hesitated for a moment before taking a seat.

"Well my family's having a reunion this weekend in Canada and I really want to go but my dad is going to be there and we haven't talked in years and I just really didn't want to do this alone so I was wondering if maybe you could accompany me; you know just for the support?" Cory looked over at Lea nervously. Lea pursed her lips in thought for a moment. She was supposed to do more wedding planning with Theo this weekend but this would be the perfect excuse to get out of it. She could always tell him she was going to visit her parents in New York or something.

"I'd love to." She smiled and nodded her head 'yes'.

"Really?" Cory grinned. Now it was his turn to hug her. "You're the best Lea." Lea's lips curled up into a smirk as she playfully flipped her hair behind her shoulder.

"Yeah I know." Cory chuckled and shoved her playfully. It would be nice to get away with Cory for the weekend. No wedding talk, no Theo, just Cory and his family. Lea had to admit she was really looking forward to this.


	9. Emily

Lea struggled with deciding on what to pack for the trip to Canada. Last time she went it was freezing, but the weather there was so unpredictable. So she called Cory to come over and help her.

"Come in," she called out from her bedroom. Lea turned around and to her surprise standing there was none other than Theo.

"Hey baby, what are you packing for?" His eyebrows furrowed together. He didn't realize she was going on some kind of trip this weekend.

"Oh I'm a little homesick so I'm gonna go see my parents in New York this weekend," she shrugged her shoulders and continued filling her suitcase with clothes.

"Can't you just wait a few more days? We're getting married and we'll be in New York soon enough." Theo walked up behind Lea and wrapped his arms around her waist; pressing gentle kisses to her shoulder.

"I'd prefer not to wait. Plus, I just really miss New York, that's all. It's no big deal. I'll be back here before you know it." Lea wiggled her way out of Theo's arms and zipped her suitcase up once she was finished packing.

"Alright well I'm going to miss you, but if it's what makes you happy." He smiled over at her and leaned down to plant a kiss to her cheek. "I'll miss you, but I'll see you soon okay? And remember when you get back, we have lots of last minute preparations to finish." He gave her one last kiss on the lips and disappeared out the door. Lea sighed in relief and sat down on the edge of the bed. She didn't even feel any love towards this guy anymore. He was like a stranger to her. She didn't recognize who he had become. It was like Theo became so consumed with jealousy over hers and Cory's friendship and that's all he focused his energy on right now. She wasn't even sure if he wanted to get married because he loved her or because it meant that Cory couldn't have her. Things just seemed so complicated. But a weekend away with Cory is just what she needed. She figured she'd make a decision based off of how well this weekend went. If things went well in Canada, which she'd assumed they would, then she'd break off the engagement with Theo and profess her love to Cory. But if somehow, someway, things went awry, then she'd keep her feelings a secret forever and marry Theo. Those were some pretty extreme decisions, but she knew those were the only options she had.

About an hour after Theo left, Cory arrived and helped Lea rearrange her suitcase. He made sure she had lots of dresses and shorts, since it was summer and the weather could get pretty hot around this time of year. They boarded the plane and in less than a few hours, they arrived at the Vancouver International Airport. As soon as they stepped outside, Lea's eyes went wide. This place was even more beautiful than Lea remembered.

"Wow!" she exclaimed; earning a grin from Cory.

"Pretty amazing isn't it?" He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her to him.

"It's beautiful," she breathed out.

"Just like you," Cory whispered sheepishly and smiled down at her. Lea couldn't help but grin ear to ear. This was going a lot better than Lea had expected and they were only five minutes into the trip. From the airport, Cory hailed them both a taxi back to his family's house. As soon as they arrived, hugs and smiles were exchanged. For Cory, it felt like he had never left.

"So Cory, do you two have an announcement to make? Is that why you brought this lovely lady with you?" His mother asked as they had all settled down for dinner.

"No ma, she's just a friend." Both Lea's heart and smile deflated a bit, but she tried not to show it.

"Oh, well the more the merrier I always say! Though you two would make such a lovely couple. You know how much I adore Lea," Cory's mom smiled at Lea from across the table and he shook his head, blushing a bright shade of red.

"She has a boyfriend, Mom. We're just friends," he reiterated before shoveling a forkful of food down his mouth.

"Okay, but just know that you're always welcome into this family should things ever... disintegrate between you and that boyfriend of yours." She winked at Lea, who let out a small giggle to herself.

"Your family is really lovely," Lea commented to Cory as they both got ready for bed later that evening.

"You think?" He chuckled and lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "I guess. My mom's kinda embarrassing though. Sorry about that." A small blush crept upon Cory's face, which Lea found just about the cutest thing she had ever seen.

"No, no it's okay. It's nice to know that if I ever decided to become part of the family, I'd be welcomed with open arms." She laughed softly and lay down on the bed.

"Well, get some rest. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Cory patted Lea's knee before walking away.

"Where are you gonna sleep?" she asked curiously, lifting her head up to look at him.

"On the floor; there aren't any more rooms available," he shrugged nonchalantly and set up his sleeping bag on the floor in front of the bed.

"You don't have to do that. You can sleep with me; sleep in the bed with me," Lea quickly corrected her error. It was her turn to blush. "It is your family's house after all. And if anyone should be sleeping on the floor, it should be me."

"That's ridiculous. I'd never let you sleep on the floor. Are you sure about this though? It won't be awkward or anything?" Lea shook her head and Cory made his way back over to the bed, getting comfortable under the covers. As soon as Cory was situated, Lea hesitantly placed her head on his chest and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She let out a comfortable sigh. This was how things should be. Just thinking about being in a position like this with Theo made her feel uncomfortable and awkward but with Cory it felt right. Everything with Cory felt right and she knew this was what she wanted. A smile formed on Lea's face as she drifted off to sleep. Cory was like home to her; comfortable, safe, and where she belonged.

"Wake up sleepyheads, it's time for…" Cory's mother said as she opened up the door to the guest bedroom that Lea and Cory were staying in. A wide smile appeared on her face as she saw them both cuddled up together in the bed. She called Cory's dad and a few other family members over as well and they all 'awwed" at the sight before them. A few minutes later, Cory woke up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes before stretching his arms. He smiled to himself as he looked down at Lea sleeping peacefully. He reached his hand out to caress her cheek and dipped his head down to press a light kiss to her neck.

"I love you…" He whispered quietly before slipping out of the bed. A smile widened on Lea's face. She had heard every word and knew right in that moment that she'd tell him how she felt as soon as they got back to LA.

Later on that day, Lea sat at the kitchen table with a bunch of Cory's female relatives as he bonded with the guys outside; playing football. Lea was helping Cory's mother cook for the reunion when an unfamiliar face walked in.

"Emily, honey, it's been such a long time! How have you been?" Cory's mom ran over to the blonde and enveloped her in a tight hug. The blonde just smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I've been really good, thanks Kate. How about you? I haven't seen you guys in like two years." The blonde took off her coat and took a seat across from Lea. Lea smiled warmly over at the blonde in greeting.

"It's been far too long! I know Cory will be just ecstatic to see you. He actually asked if you'd be here today." Emily just smiled as Mrs. Monteith talked.

"I don't mean to be rude or anything, but are you Cory's cousin?" The rest of the room bursted out into giggles.

"Um, no, I'm Cory's ex." Lea's smile instantly faded at those words.

"Cory was so in love with Emily. We thought for sure they would get married someday!" Cory's cousin chimed in. Emily blushed slightly.

"Maybe it's not too late." A hopeful smile formed on her face.

"What do you mean dear?" Asked Mrs. Monteith as she stirred some ingredients together in a bowl.

"Well I'm here to see if he'll take me back. I know I've made some mistakes in the past and I know that I've hurt him, but I'm here to make things right again." The girls in the room squealed as Lea just sat there. She couldn't believe this. Just when things were finally starting to go right and work out with them, something always had to come in between them. But she stayed calmed; because she knew that Cory loved her. He just said it this morning and she knew that no other girl, no matter how pretty or how much history they had, was going to compare to what she had with Cory.

"Hi you!" Lea grinned as she skipped over to Cory, who was standing outside with a drink in his hand.

"Hey, what are you so happy about?" He chuckled and took a sip of his drink.

"Nothing, it's just… really nice to be here with you, that's all," She shrugged. He smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a sideways hug. Just as he was about to take another sip, he noticed a wave of blonde hair coming towards him. That smile. He knew that smile anywhere.

"Hi Cory," Emily smiled and rested her hand on Cory's upper arm in greeting. Cory just stood there in silence for a moment before finally opening up his mouth and speaking.

"Emily?" He asked; not sure if the girl he saw standing in front of him was real or if he was just dreaming.

"It's so good to see you, it's been so long," Emily replied as she wrapped her arms around Cory and pulled him into a hug. Lea didn't like the look on Cory's face. He looked like he was amazed. And most of all he looked like he still loved her. She couldn't stand there and watch them. It broke her heart.

"I'm gonna go see if your mom needs any help in the kitchen," Lea said before quickly walking off without another word. Cory looked back at her for a moment before turning back towards Emily.

"What are you doing here?" He asked as Emily took his hands.

"I came to see you. I've missed you Cory." She leaned in to press her lips against Cory's cheek; letting her lips linger for a minute before pulling away.

Lea made a beeline straight for the bathroom. Once inside, she locked the door and leaned against the sink, taking a few deep breaths. She turned on the faucet and splashed some cold water on her face. She couldn't believe this. Just this morning Cory was telling her that he loved her. But that look on his face when he saw Emily; he never looked at anyone else like that except for her. Just then, Lea was startled with a knock on the door.

"Um, someone's in here," Lea called out. She took one final deep breath and opened up the bathroom door, politely smiling at the lady who was waiting to get inside before heading back outside. She had to find Cory. She couldn't wait until they got back to LA to tell him how she felt about him. It needed to be here; it needed to be now, otherwise Emily would get him and judging by the look on Cory's face when he saw her; keep him. Lea looked all around the backyard, but couldn't seem to find Cory.

"Hey Anna, have you seen Cory around?" Lea asked one of Cory's cousins she had grown to like in the past few hours.

"I saw him go up to the bedroom with Emily. They've been in there for a while. Lord only knows what they're doing up there. They really must've missed each other." Anna winked at Lea and walked off to greet some of her relatives. Lea's heart sank to her chest. He had just said he loved her this morning and now he was off sleeping with another girl; a girl he apparently never got over? She wished she hadn't of heard what he said that morning. This was too much for Lea to take. She needed to get out of there as fast as she could.


	10. Some Things Just Aren't Meant To Be

"Can we go talk; in private?" Emily leaned in to whisper to Cory who only nodded his head and took her hand; leading her up the stairs to his childhood bedroom. Once there, Emily closed the door behind them and squeezed Cory's hand.

"I've been thinking about you a lot lately," she said sheepishly, glancing up at Cory nervously.

"Oh yeah?" He arched a curious eyebrow.

"Yeah," she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear shyly. "I uh, I know I've made mistakes in the past and I know I've hurt you but is there anyway that you'd ever consider forgiving me?" She chewed nervously on her lower lip.

"I forgive you Emily. I forgave you a long time ago." He nodded his head and managed to slip his hand out of her grip.

"You have?" A smile began to form on her face. "That's so great to hear. I was worried you'd never get over it. I thought this would have been a lot harder." She breathed a sigh of relief.

"What would've been a lot harder?" He chuckled softly and his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"Winning you back," She stated simply, "I thought I'd have a hard time getting you to forgive me, but now that we've made the first step in repairing our relationship, I'd like to give us another shot Cory." She smiled sincerely up at him. Cory took a step back and shook his head slowly.

"I said I forgive you Emily, but that doesn't mean I'm going to get back with you. What you did to me, it was the worst pain I thought I would ever feel. But then I met this girl, and she's amazing, but things between us have always been complicated, and knowing that I couldn't have her; that hurts worse than anything. Now that I might finally have a chance with her, I'm not doing anything to screw that up. I'm sorry." _So much for moving on, he thought to himself. _Emily just stood in place; completely silent. She didn't know what to say. Here she thought that she was Cory's greatest love, but she didn't even come close.

"Who is she?" Emily managed to choke out; fighting back a stream of tears.

"You don't know her, but she's one of my costars; Lea Michele. I never thought I could love someone as much as I love her," he said more to himself than anything else. A small smile appeared on Cory's face as he thought about Lea.

"Oh, well she's um, she's a lovely girl. I can see why you love her. She's very lucky. I hope she realizes that sooner than I did," she smiled sadly before quickly reaching over to press a kiss against his cheek and slipping out of the room as fast as she could. Cory waited for a few minutes before heading down the stairs to find Lea.

"Hey ma, have you seen Lea around?" He walked up behind his mother and pressed an affectionate kiss to her cheek.

"No honey I'm sorry. She's gone. She said goodbye just about 20 minutes ago," his mother said as she stirred a pot of vegetables.

"Left; what do you mean she left? Where did she go?" Cory asked.

"She said she was going home. She said she had a wedding to plan." His mom just shrugged and walked out of the kitchen. What the hell had he missed in the past twenty minutes? Everything was going so great. He thought they were finally getting past all the weirdness and moving towards being friends if nothing more and now this? The girl had serious mood swings. Cory sighed and made his way outside. He needed to catch a plane and fast.

Lea stuck her ear buds in and turned up her music as the plane took off. How could Cory do that to her? She thought that they would finally be able to have a chance at a real relationship once they got back to LA and as always, one of them screwed it up. Lea closed her eyes for a few moments to fight back the tears that were threatening to spill out.

"_Lea, I have something to tell you," Cory had said on their final night of the tour last year, which just so happened to be in New York. _

"_Okay, can you tell me later? Ryan wants to take the cast out to dinner to celebrate the end of tour!" Lea grinned excitedly and skipped off, arm in arm with Amber. _

"_Sure," He replied once she was already out of earshot. _

_During dinner, Lea's phone buzzed and she received a text from Cory. That was weird, she thought. He was sitting right across from her. But she decided to read it anyway. _

_Cory: Meet me outside in 10? _

_Lea: Why? _

_Cory: I have something I want to show you. _

_So Lea said yes and finished the rest of her dinner in silence. She was much too eager and curious about what Cory had in store for them. Ten minutes later, Lea discreetly slipped out of the restaurant and blamed some bad salad as her reason for leaving early. _

"_So what's up? Why all the secrecy?" She arched a curious eyebrow at Cory. _

"_Just be quiet and do what I say okay?" Cory had never been one to be so forceful. He was such a gentle and loving person. Lea had to say, this side of him was sexy though. _

"_Yes sir," she replied; smirking slightly to herself before getting into his car. _

"_Poor horse," Lea frowned as she watched a white horse pull around a carriage full of people. _

"_You're really passionate about saving those horses aren't you?" Cory half smiled over at her. _

"_Yes, Cor! Look at the way that they're treated. It's inhumane!" She shook her head in disbelief and Cory couldn't help but smile to himself. He loved how passionate she was about animals. It was one of the qualities he admired about her so much. Once they got out of the car, Cory stepped behind Lea and brought his hands in front of her face._

"_Alright, I'm gonna cover your eyes with this blindfold. Don't peek." Lea giggled softly. He knew her much too well. "Can you see me?" He held up a few fingers and Lea shook her head. "Okay, watch your step." Cory led Lea through some trees before they finally. _

"_Where are we?" Lea asked, beginning to lift up her blindfold. _

"_You can take that off and see for yourself." Cory untied the blindfold from around her eyes and revealed a stable; filled with horses. "I know that you don't approve of the horse and carriage rides, but I figured this was the next best thing," he shrugged sheepishly. _

"_They're all so beautiful Cory!" She grinned and ran over to one of the stables, gently and carefully petting one of the horses' heads. "I think this is officially my favorite date I've ever been on." Cory smiled to himself at her words. _

"_So you admit it? This is a date." He bit his lower lip and fought back a smirk. Lea looked back at Cory and shook her head in amusement; chuckling lightly as she nudged him._

"_What's so wrong with that?" She shrugged before turning her attention back to the horse. _

"_Nothing at all." The growing smile on Cory's face was evidence of just how happy he was at that moment. After about half an hour, Cory and Lea made their way back up to her hotel room. _

"_Wait, Lea?" Cory stopped her in the hallway; just a few doors short of her room. _

"_Yeah?" She turned around to face him; arching an eyebrow in question._

"_I have something I've been wanting to tell you for quite some time now." Lea bit her lip as Cory came closer; winding his big hands around her tiny arms._

"_Don't," Lea started; her bottom lip which was beginning to quiver. _

"_No, I have to say this. And you need to listen. Lea I…" Cory couldn't get out the rest of his words before Lea interrupted him. _

"_No, don't; I know what you're going to say. Please don't." She replied; tears quickly filling her eyes as she ran into her room as fast as she could and closed the door behind her. _

"_I /love/ you Lea! Why do you always do this? We were having a good time tonight. Why do you have to go and ruin it all the time? You pick a fight over nothing just so we have something to fight about; so you can push me away!" He yelled through the door, but got no response. After a few minutes of silence, Cory just walked away. Lea slid down against the door and buried her face into her hands; sobbing uncontrollably. It wasn't that she didn't love him. She loved him with everything in her and that was the problem. She was scared that she loved him too much. She didn't want to lose Cory. That was her biggest fear in life; to lose the one person who meant everything to her. And she just couldn't risk that. _

Waking up as the plane landed, Lea grabbed her carry on and walked into the airport. She flagged down a cab and silently made her way back to her apartment. As she walked down the hallway, she noticed a familiar looking figure standing by her doorway. Carefully approaching the door, Lea cleared her throat to let the person know she was there.

"How did you get here before me?" She crossed her arms over her chest protectively and leaned up against the wall.

"I called in a favor. That's not important though." He took a step closer to her and Lea's body stiffened up. "Lea, I don't know what you think happened in Canada between Emily and me, but I assure you it wasn't what you were thinking." He rubbed his hands up and down her shoulders in a comforting manner.

"Just save it Cory. Nothing you can say is going to change my mind. I saw you two go upstairs and from the way everyone else was talking you clearly love her, so please don't let me stop you," she held her hands up and nudged him away, moving around him to unlock her door.

"Damn it Lea, you're doing it again. You're picking a fight just to push me away. You /know/ how I feel about you and yes at one point I was crazy about Emily but if you heard what I told her about you, you wouldn't be doing this right now." He tried to grab her arm gently to pull her back towards him, but she yanked it away and walked through the door; quickly slamming it behind her. This felt like New York all over again; the fighting, the door slamming, all of it. "You're making a big mistake Lea, because if I walk out this door, I'm never coming back again. I'm getting tired of this fighting and I don't want to do it anymore." All that could be heard was silence and the shuffling of feet inside the house. She was walking away from him. His suspicion was only proved even more when he heard another door in the apartment slam. In frustration, Cory pounded his fist against the front door and dejectedly made his way downstairs.

Sighing once again, Lea started to unpack. A few hours after Cory left, Lea was lying in bed, just staring up at the ceiling when she received a phone call.

"Lea, are you there? I've been trying to call you for hours and I've left you tons of messages where the hell are you?" Chris' voice spoke on the other end of the line.

"I'm at home. What's so important that you're calling me this late? Fashion crisis?" She laughed softly and arched an eyebrow in curiosity as she heard Chris' tone of voice. It was anything but playful.

"No, Lea this is serious. You need to get down to the hospital now." Chris demanded.

"What why? Chris are you okay? What happened? You're okay right?" Lea was starting to panic now. Chris sounded so /serious/ and anyone who knew him knew that he was far from serious.

"Just get down here; it's Cory. I don't know the details. The doctors will explain when you get here, but he's not doing well at all. I know you're going to regret it if something happens to him and you're not here." After Lea heard Cory's name everything else went blank. The phone dropped out of her hand and Lea stood there in shock; her jaw hanging open slightly. All she knew was that she needed to get over to that hospital as quickly as possible.

"Lea? Hello?" The voice on the other end of the phone continued to talk. Lea realized that the call was still connected.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," she said before hanging up the phone and grabbing her keys; making her way out the door.


End file.
